Snow-melter



(No'Modell) A 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. T. B. WODWARD'.

SNOW MELTER.

No. 361,789. PatentedApr. 26, 1887.

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T. B. WOODWARD.

V SNOW MELTBR.

No. 361,739. Patented Apr. 26, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Grrrce.

THEODOREB. IVOODWARD, OF NORWAY, PENNSYLVANIA.

SNOW-MEIJER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,739, dated April 26, i887.

Application filed April 10, 1886. Serial-No, 198,513. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l', THEoDoRE B. WOOD- WARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Norway, in the county of Chester and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Snow-Melters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to that class of devices which are used to remove snow from the streets of cities by melting it; and the object of the invention is to present to the snow a great amount of heated surface and to bring the snow forcibly in contact therewith.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts forming a snow-melter, hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section at the line .r x,

Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is alongitudinal vertical section at the line y y, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of my snow-melter, part in section on the line .e z, Fig. 2, and part in detail on a larger scale.

A represents a series of boilers located over Acombustion chambers or furnaces B, having D represents the boiler-jackets, located a little distance from the sides of the boiler to form hot-air spaces E, and somewhat above the boiler to form the smoke-ii ues F. Each smokeiiue F communicates with the union-ilue G, which discharges the smoke through a chimney, H. n

I represents the snow-scrapers,having their inclined front faces concave on the arc of a circle concentric with the paddle-wheels J, and with their lower edges forward toward the snow.

J represents a series of paddle wheels mounted rigidly on an axle, K, which is journaled in bearings L, attached to the jackets D.

M M are wheels rigidly secured upon the ends of the axle K to roll on the ground, supporting the forward portion of the machine and causing the paddlewheels to revolve as the machine advances. By this means the paddles are pushed,like a spade,down into the snow nearly to the ground in front of the Scrapers I, serving as abacker to .hold the snow engaged while the Scrapers advance under it. Then the revolving of the paddles carries the snow back upv theincline of the Scrapers to their summits N and pushes it into the pans 0. The jackets D form the sides of the pans, and begin the melting process, The ends N and P of the pan are about on a level, so that a certain amount oi' water is all the time retained in the pan to become heated and assist in melting the snow. The surplus Water is led by spouts Q into a common discharge-pipe, 1%,which delivers at the sides of the machine toward the street-gutters. What little water works its way forward lthrough the incoming snow will descend on ,combustionchambelg whereby the water in the pipes becomes heated, and having nozzles a at different heights for discharging forward into the snow to loosen it and lubricate it when dry and hard packed. These nozzles arelittle morev than holes in the side of the pipe V, opposite holes in the jacket D, (see detail view, Fig. 5,) through which water may be discharged, and these nozzles or openings are provided with separate stop cocks b, so that the hot water may be ejected into the snow from a highone or a lowone, as may be required. Each boiler is provided with a discharge-pipe, c, for surplus steam. Onevboiler discharges into the jacket-space E, to heat the air therein, and the next boiler discharges into the adjacent pans O, to keep the water hot.

A prominent characteristic of my invention is that the boilers, combustion-chambers, and jackets taper forward, the jackets terminating IOO forward in vertical edges d, the better to enter the snow. By this means the outer spaces between the jackets are somewhat hoppershaped, so that the whole front of the machine is open to receive the snow, which begins to melt as soon as it touches the hot jackets, and the snow as it passes backward into lthewedge shape of the hoppers continually comes in contact with the heated jackets at both sides, thus effectively economizng the heat. To force the snow backward I provide a hoe, e, in each hopper. The rear end of the hoe-handle is connected with a crank, f, whose revolutions reciprocate it along the hopper.

m is a cross-bar or roller, over which the handle ofthe hoe slides to guide the hoe up over the snow and down into it in advancing, then to permit the hoe by gravity to follow its load downward in drawingit backward,while the handle rises freely off from the roller m. When the descent of the crank in revolving brings the hoe-handle again upon the roller, it pries the hoe out of the snow and returns it forward, as before.

g is a shaft journaled in bracket-bearings n and carrying the cranks f, driven by pulleys h and 7c, connected by belts. The pulleys 7c are xed upon the axles of the wheels Z, on which the rear end of the machine rests, and the rolling of the wheels as the machine ad- Vances operates the hoes through the mechanism described. rIhe cross-bar of the roller m is provided with bearing-holes p at different heights, whereby the action of the hoes may be adjusted to handle large or small quantities of snow. l

1" is the coal-carrier, located below and to Vthe rearof the furnace-doors s.

t represents ears at different heights on the outer jackets, to attach a draft-pole, u, to, according as the snow is light or deep.

The machine is also. provided with a rear coupling, fw, whereby the forward end of the pole may be attached when the snow is so deep as to require the machine to be pushed rather than drawn. One of the pipes V is arranged beneath the forward part of the scrapers I, with its nozzles a pointing nearly toward the edge of the scraper, to assistfthe scraper in cutting hard snow or ice. Two tapering boilers having one hopper-shaped space between them would operate on this same principle, but to less advantage than a greater number, where both sides of all but two boilers could come adjacent to the snow to be melted, and a machine thus constructed without a scraper, pan, or paddlewheel would operate to some advantage, on account of theboilers tapering forward to be pushed directly into the snow to melt it.

I do not consider that the jackets between the boilers are positively necessary, because the outside of the boilers would answer the purpose tofsome extent when placed side by side and tapering forward.

What I claim as my invention,

and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the carrying-wheels, a series of boilers mounted side by side thereon, a series of furnaces under the boilers, a series of jackets inclosing the tops and sides of the boilers and furnaces and tapering forward, whereby wedge-shaped recesses are formed, and a series of scrapers between the forward ends of the jackets, substantially as shown and described.

2.v The combination of the carrying-wheels and two or more boilers placed side by side and tapering forward, forming a wedge-shaped space or spaces between them, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination of the carryingwheels,

a series of boilers placed side by side, a series v of Scrapers between and connecting their forward ends and slanting forward, aseries of pans between the boilers and behind the Scrapers, and overflow-discharge pipes therefor, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination of the carrying-wheels, a series of boilers placed side by side, a re- Volving axle for the forward wheels passing across the front end of themachine, a series of paddle-wheels secured upon the axle to revolve with the forward wheels and located between the boilers, a series of Scrapers, one between each pair of rollers and arc-shaped to fit the pat-h of the paddle-wheels, and a snowreceiver behind each scraper, lsubstantially as shown and described.

`5. rIhe combination ofthe drive and carrying wheels, a series of boilers placed side by side, a series ofscrapers and snow-receptacles between the boilers, a crank-shaft journaled to the rear of the boilers, wheels or pulleys upon theshaft, connected with the drive-wheels, and a series of hoes located between the boilers, connected by their handles Ywith the cranks of the said crank-shaft, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination of a series of boilers placed side by side, a series of furnaces beneath them, a series of jackets inclosing the tops and sides of the boilers and tapering forward, and a series of scrapers between the forward ends of the jackets, substantially as shown and described.

7. Ihe combination of a series of boilers placed side by side over a series of furnaces, a water-tank above and communicating with each boiler, and a series of pipes leading from the said tank through the furnaces respectively to the front of the machine and provided at dit'- ferent heights with outlets and stoplcocks,sub stantially as shown and described. l

` In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THEODORE B. VOODWARD.

Witnesses:

WM. W. PRITOHETT, HARVEY B. VANDEGRIFT.

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